Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 produces a distinct performance profile in Lockdown Protocol, characterized by a strong CPU paired with an older GPU. The data indicates that the graphics card is the primary constraint, particularly at higher resolutions and graphical settings. This analysis breaks down the measured frame rates, the role each component plays, and how this specific combination ranks among tested configurations.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with Low settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings is 131 FPS. This is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo in the dataset.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average frame rate drops to 29 FPS. This is the lowest average recorded, indicating the combination struggles to maintain playable performance at this extreme configuration.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 60 FPS target at 1440p?

A: The data shows that at 2560x1440, the High settings preset achieves an average of 59 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS target. The Low preset achieves 96 FPS, and the Medium preset achieves 68 FPS, so Medium is the only preset that meets the 60 FPS target while offering higher visual fidelity than Low.

Q: What is the CPU's benchmark percentile ranking?

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D has a percentile rank of 91 when compared to all CPUs. This indicates it outperforms the majority of tested processors in general benchmark scenarios.

Q: What is the GPU's benchmark percentile ranking?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 has a percentile rank of 47 when compared to all GPUs. This places it near the middle of the performance spectrum, highlighting its age relative to the modern CPU.

Q: What is the combo's rank out of all tested combinations?

A: The combo rank for this CPU and GPU pairing in Lockdown Protocol is 2342 out of 2828 total combinations. This places it in the lower percentile of all tested system configurations for this specific game.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture. It operates with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and can boost up to 5.50 GHz. This high core count and clock speed are reflected in its strong benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 47737 and a Geekbench single-core score of 3041. The CPU's 128 MB of L3 cache is also a significant feature for gaming workloads.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's influence is most apparent when the graphical load is low. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 131 FPS. This high frame rate suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to push well past 100 FPS in this scenario. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 12490 and max-thread score of 13795 demonstrate substantial multi-threaded processing power that can handle game logic and physics simulations efficiently.

However, the CPU's potential is not fully realized in this pairing. The benchmark results show that the Ryzen 9 9900X3D sits in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54762. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, has an average score of 55093, a delta of -0.6%, showing they are nearly identical in synthetic tests. This level of CPU performance is far beyond what the GTX 1070 can utilize in most gaming scenarios, making the CPU rarely the limiting factor in this combination.

The data suggests that the CPU's role is to ensure a stable performance floor. While the GPU handles the rendering, the 9900X3D provides enough headroom to prevent CPU-bound frame rate dips, particularly at lower resolutions where the GPU can render frames faster. For instance, the jump from 93 FPS at 1080p Medium to 131 FPS at 1080p Low is significant, but the CPU is not the primary reason for the difference; the reduced pixel and shading workload on the GPU is the main driver. The CPU is essentially waiting on the GPU in most scenarios.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how different settings presets impact performance. The goal is to find a balance between visual quality and a smooth frame rate. For this specific combination, the optimal preset depends heavily on the target resolution.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 131 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate displays. The Medium preset still offers a very playable 93 FPS, while High drops to 81 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to 61 FPS. For players prioritizing maximum smoothness, Low is the standout choice. However, Medium offers a substantial upgrade in visual fidelity while still maintaining a high average frame rate well above 60 FPS, making it the recommended baseline for 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the performance curve shifts. The Low preset averages 96 FPS, which is still very smooth. The Medium preset averages 68 FPS, providing a good balance of quality and performance. The High preset drops to 59 FPS, which is just shy of a 60 FPS target. For a consistent 60+ FPS experience at 1440p, Medium is the recommended preset, as it provides a comfortable margin over the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the GTX 1070 is clearly overburdened. The Low preset averages 62 FPS, which is the only playable option at this resolution. The Medium preset drops to 44 FPS, and High falls to 38 FPS, both of which are below smooth playability. Ultra is unplayable at 29 FPS. For 4K, the data indicates that only the Low preset is viable for a playable experience.

The data suggests a diminishing return on visual quality as the resolution increases. For this combo, the best experience is achieved by using the Medium preset at 1080p or 1440p, as it provides a significant visual upgrade over Low while staying well within the performance capabilities of the system. At 4K, users must accept Low settings to maintain a playable frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 9 9900X3D and GTX 1070 ranks 2342 out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the lower half of all tested configurations, which is a direct result of the significant performance disparity between the CPU and GPU. The CPU is a top-tier component, while the GPU is a legacy model.

This low ranking is not due to the CPU, which is in the 91st percentile of all CPUs. It is due to the GPU, which is in the 47th percentile of all GPUs. The GTX 1070's average benchmark score of 9780 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, such as the AMD FirePro W5000 with a delta of -0.2% and the NVIDIA Quadro M2000M with a delta of -0.5%. This shows the GPU is performing as expected for its class, but that class is simply too old to compete with modern graphics cards in a demanding FPS title at high resolutions.

The ranking suggests that most other tested combos have a more balanced pairing. A system with a modern mid-range GPU, or even a previous-generation high-end GPU, would likely surpass this combo's performance despite having a weaker CPU. The 9900X3D's power is wasted in this configuration, as the GTX 1070 becomes the bottleneck in almost all scenarios, preventing the CPU from demonstrating its full gaming potential. The combo's rank reflects the GPU's limitations rather than a reflection of the CPU's capability.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is based on the Pascal architecture and features 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s. Its core clocks are set at 1506 MHz base and 1683 MHz boost. With 1920 shading units, it offers a raw compute performance of 6.463 TFLOPS. The GPU has a 47th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 9780.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GTX 1070's age is evident. Its performance is challenged severely by the game's demands at higher resolutions. The average frame rates demonstrate a clear pattern: as the resolution and settings increase, the frame rate drops significantly. At 1080p Low, it achieves 131 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it falls to 29 FPS. This indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor in this pairing.

The GPU's memory and bandwidth are also potential constraints. The 8 GB of VRAM is sufficient for many titles, but at 4K with High or Ultra settings, memory capacity and bandwidth can become limiting. The 256.3 GB/s bandwidth is a fraction of what modern GPUs offer. The data shows a steep performance cliff between 1440p and 4K, suggesting that the GPU's compute and memory subsystems are overwhelmed by the 4K pixel count.

The GTX 1070's benchmark rivals are all professional or older cards, such as the AMD FirePro W5000 and NVIDIA Tesla M10. These scores confirm that the GPU is performing at the expected level for its hardware. The GPU's role is to render frames, and while it does so capably at 1080p, it lacks the raw power to handle Lockdown Protocol's higher fidelity settings and resolutions. The performance is consistent with a card from the GeForce 10-series era.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at performance across all resolutions and settings. The following breakdown uses the exact average FPS figures from the dataset.

1920x1080:

• Low: 131 FPS average.
• Medium: 93 FPS average, with a min of 79 FPS and a max of 107 FPS.
• High: 81 FPS average.
• Ultra: 61 FPS average.

2560x1440:

• Low: 96 FPS average.
• Medium: 68 FPS average, with a min of 58 FPS and a max of 78 FPS.
• High: 59 FPS average.
• Ultra: 45 FPS average.

3840x2160:

• Low: 62 FPS average.
• Medium: 44 FPS average, with a min of 37 FPS and a max of 50 FPS.
• High: 38 FPS average.
• Ultra: 29 FPS average.

The data shows a consistent pattern of frame rate reduction as both resolution and settings increase. At 1080p, the system has enough GPU headroom to provide high frame rates even on High settings. The Medium preset shows a variance of 28 FPS between min and max, indicating some frame pacing variability. At 1440p, the High preset just misses the 60 FPS mark, and Ultra drops below 50 FPS. The step from 1440p to 4K is the most punishing, with the Low preset being the only one to stay above 60 FPS, and all other presets falling into unplayable territory below 45 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K, with an average of 29 FPS, is the worst-case scenario.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates the bottleneck in this system. The data shows a dramatic drop in frame rates as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario.

At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 131 at 1080p to 96 at 1440p and then to 62 at 4K. This represents a 26.7% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a further 35.4% drop from 1440p to 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 52.7%. This progressive decline indicates that the GPU is struggling to fill the increasing number of pixels.

At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 93 at 1080p to 68 at 1440p, a 26.9% decrease, and then to 44 at 4K, a 35.3% decrease from 1440p. The pattern is remarkably similar to the Low settings scaling, showing that the resolution is the dominant factor in performance loss, not the settings preset.

At High settings, the average FPS goes from 81 at 1080p to 59 at 1440p, a 27.2% drop, and then to 38 at 4K, a 35.6% drop from 1440p. Again, the scaling factor is consistent. This consistency across all settings presets strongly suggests that the GPU's pixel throughput is the limiting factor.

The scaling analysis shows that the CPU is not the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the frame rate to remain more constant across resolutions, as the CPU's workload does not scale with resolution. Instead, the frame rate drops almost linearly with the increase in pixel count. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D has ample headroom, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p, but it is held back by the GTX 1070's inability to render frames fast enough at higher resolutions. The data points to the GPU being the definitive performance ceiling for this combo in Lockdown Protocol.